In the Spotlight
by HOAluver13
Summary: The Angelz, Nina's girl band, visits the UK to make their comeback album. Nina catches Fabian cheating on her and uses it to her advantage. She flees Anubis to work with her band, but while she's gone, she finds out heartbreaking news. How will Anubis react when they hear about Nina's sudden fame? Will Nina find out about her mates', especially Amber's, secrets?
1. Chapter 1

**I know this has been done a hundred times, but it's different than the others. Some characters will be OOC.**

* * *

Nina looked at her wristwatch and sighed. _"Where is he?"_ she thought. Nina leaned back in her seat, her hand playing with the the water filled wine glass. She looked around watching couples, families, friends eating dinner and enjoying themselves.

A waiter walked up to Nina's table. "Are you ready to order?" he asked. "No, my date should be here soon," Nina told him. The waiter nodded and left to serve another table in his section. Nina occasionally took sips of her water to pass the time. Nina looked through her clutch purse and pulled out her iPhone. She unlocked it and saw that there were no new messages.

Finally, over an hour late, Fabian walked into the restaurant. He was dressed nicely in a fancy black suit, a white dress shirt, and red tie. But what was peculiar was his tie was loosened with the first few buttons of his shirt were undone, half of his shirt was untucked, and his hair was a little messy. And not in a cute way. He made his way to the hostess. The young, beautiful, blonde hostess smiled when she saw Fabian coming her way. Fabian flashed his amazing smile, causing her heart to leap.

Nina turned around in her seat to see Fabian chatting with the hostess. The hostess giggled at something Fabian said and it was obvious he was flirting with her. Jealously took over Nina as she sat properly in her seat, taking deep breaths, trying to relax. She absentmindedly tapped her foot as she waited for Fabian to arrive at the table. After what seemed like hours, Fabian made his way over to Nina, fixing his shirt and tie.

"Hey," he said, kissing her on the cheek. He took his seat across from her and began going through the menu.

"You're late," Nina stated.

"I know," Fabian admitted, "But I was having some trouble getting here."

"Why? What happened? Did you get in a fight with your clothes and they won?" Nina growled.

"Why are you so upset?" Fabian set down his menu, looking bored.

"This is the fourth time you've been late this month and you've been using the same excuse!" Nina snapped. "What are you doing that's taking up so much time?"

"Nothing," Fabian replied. "There was just traffic."

"This restaurant is within walking distance from our school, there couldn't have been much traffic. Besides, we were suppose to meet up in the foyer before our date, which you didn't show up to, obviously. I'm just so tired of you lying to me."

"I'm not lying to you!" Fabian defended.

"Well, you're not exactly telling the truth," Nina shouted.

"You're making this more than it really is," Fabian said.

"Really? I am? Well I wouldn't if you..." Fabian stopped listening to Nina and turned his attention back to the hostess. She was leading a family of six to a table nearby. When she saw Fabian looking at her, she flashed a flirtasious smile and walked back to her station.

"Fabian!" Fabian looked back at his angry girlfriend. "Are you even listening to me?"

A few people in the restaraunt began turning their attention to the bickering, young couple. Fabian took note of this before speaking again.

"Look. We came here to enjoy our two anniversary. If you want to spend it arguing over something that's not a big deal, then it's fine by me. But I want to spend it having a nice dinner with my girlfriend," Fabian said, calmly.

Nina sighed and was silent for a moment before saying, "You're right. Let's just enjoy our anniversary." And for the rest of the dinner, Nina and Fabian carried on normal conversations and shared a few laughs and didn't bring up Fabian's reoccuring tardiness and excuses.

But one thing's for sure, Nina was not going to let this go.

* * *

_Hey yeah yeah yeah yea hey yeah yeah. If we give a little love maybe we can change the world. I said, "Hey yeah yeah yeah yeah hey yeah yeah." Sing it if you're with me all you boys and all you girls. Let me see you put your hearts up, yeah. Let me see you put your-_

Nina's hand lazily flopped over her alarm clock, stopping the music. A groan was heard from the other side of the room as Nina sat up.

"Do you have to wake up so early on a Sunday morning?" Amber complained still laying in her bed.

"Sorry, I forgot to turn off my alarm," Nina apologized. But by the time she finished her sentence, Amber had already fallen back asleep. Nina quietly got out of bed and made her way downstairs to the kitchen where Eddie was making pancakes.

"Morning," Eddie greeted.

"Morning. Didn't expect to see you up so early," Nina said getting a pitcher of orange juice out of the fridge.

"Well you kind of have to if you're going to make yourself breakfast."

"All of that's for you?" Nina said in disbelief. She pointed to the tall stack of pancakes that were in Eddie's hand.

"Yeah. Why? Did you want some?" Eddie asked pointing to his plate.

"No. I'm just saying it's a lot of food," Nina replied.

"Well, I'm a growing boy. Well, man," Eddie said.

"You keep telling yourself that, Eddie." Nina patted Eddie on the shoulder and walked to the other side of the kitchen to get the cereal. Eddie made his to the dining room and sat down.

"So why are you up so early?" Eddie questioned.

"Alarm went off. Not tired."

"Ah," Eddie replied. Nina walked into the dining room, with her bowl of Bran Flakes, and sat in her usual spot. Eddie sprayed whipped cream all over his pancakes.

"That is repulsive," Nina commented.

"What you've never had whipped cream on pancakes before?" Eddie questioned.

"I have, but not that much. Usually I put whipped cream on my pancakes with strawberries or something, but not smothered all over with syrup," Nina explained.

"Well, you're missing out," Eddie said with a mouthful of pancakes. For the majority of breakfast Nina and Eddie discussed school, or how much they hate school on Eddie's account, and other random topics until some of the other students came in.

Soon, everyone was at the table eating breakfast, except for Fabian.

"So what do you guys think about me becoming a ninja?" Alfie asked.

"Depends. In what world would you qualify as a ninja?" Nina questioned.

Alfie scoffed. "Ours, obviously." Suddenly, he gasped. "I got it. Ninjas on Mars."

"Why?" Joy pondered.

"To fight off all the alien ninjas," Alfie said as if it was obvious.

"Sometimes I wonder what goes on in his head," Mara commented. Jerome laughed.

"It's probably full of ninjas, aliens, and Amber," Patricia stated.

"Can't argue with you there," Eddie said and took a bite of toast. Fabian walked into the dining room, yawning. He sat down in his spot and grabbed the pitcher of orange juice. He was pouring himself a glass when he noticed everyone was staring at him.

"What?" he asked. He set the pitcher back on the table.

"Why are _you_ so late?" Jerome questioned.

"I fell asleep pretty late last night," Fabian responded.

"How come?" Mara pondered.

"I uh had trouble sleeping," Fabian lied.

"That's funny 'cause you didn't come back to the room till like one in the morning." Eddie pointed out.

"Nooo. You were with Patricia the majority of the night and when you came back in I was in the bathroom," Fabian replied. Luckily, the part about Eddie and Patricia was true, the bathroom not so much.

Eddie nodded believing Fabian. But Nina, on the other hand, didn't buy it, but remained silent.

"Anyway. On to more important matters. Nina, you and I are going shopping today," Amber stated.

"Can't Ambs. I have a ten page report due tomorrow and I'm no where near finished," Nina explained.

"Awww. Well, do any of you girls want to come with me?" Amber asked.

"I'll go," Mara answered. "I need some new shoes."

"I'll go too," Patricia volunteered. "There's this sick new t-shirt at Hot Topic and it's half off." **[A/N: I know there isn't a Hot Topic in the UK, but just pretend]**

"Wow. Who'd ever thought we'd hear Patricia Williamson talk about clothes or go shopping voluntarily," Jerome stated. Alfie chuckled.

"Shut up, weasel," Patricia told Jerome. Jerome making a face, mocking Patricia. Alfie and Eddie laughed. Nina smiled in amusement.

"Well, we better get going if we're going to get to all the good shops," Amber said, standing up.

"I'm beginning to regret this already," Patricia groaned but followed Amber and Mara regardless.

* * *

Nina sat on her bed typing ferociously on her laptop. It's been hours since she started her report and she was now on page eight. _"Almost finished,"_ she thought.

Nina looked at her alarm clock. 4:46. _"Wow. Time flies."_ she thought, Not only has she been typing for a long time but Amber, Mara, and Patricia still weren't back from shopping yet.

When Nina finished typing the eighth page of her report, she decided to take a break. Nina got up slowly off her bed and stretched. She walked to the kitchen where Trudy was making supper. Trudy greeted Nina with a smile which Nina returned. Nina grabbed an apple out of a bowl and took a bite. There was silence in the kitchen, except for the occasional sounds of Trudy chopping various vegetables.

Nina broke the silence by randomly saying, "Hey Trudy, I'm going to go for a walk. I'll be back before supper."

"Alright. But don't go too far," Trudy cautioned.

"I won't," Nina replied and exited the kitchen.

* * *

Nina walked around the vacant campus enjoying the scenery of Liverpool. The temperature was nice, but still a little chilly. Nina desperately wished she had brought a jacket so she wasn't just wearing Nike shorts and a t-shirt.

Nina realized she was near the school when she saw the familiar landscape. She rounded a corner and stopped dead in her tracks. There, less than thirty yards away, stood Fabian and a blonde girl kissing. Correction, making out (or snogging for those who are British). Fabian and the girl didn't seem to notice Nina, fortunately, which Nina used to her advantage.

She quietly turned around and headed back to the house. Nina sighed. She wasn't angry nor was she going to cry. She wasn't sad, she wasn't hurt. She was tired. Tired of all the pain, confusion, and suffering Fabian has caused her for the last two years. Tired of the lies and endless excuses.

Nina looked around as she walked and saw a tree. But not just any tree. She abandoned her path to the house, and walked over to the tree. She knelt down and looked at a specific spot. There craved in the tree was N plus F in a roughly carved heart. Underneath, had the words "FABINA FOREVER!" _'Amber must've found the tree,'_ Nina thought.

A stray tear escaped from Nina's eye and fell down her cheek. She wished things could be different. She wanted what Amber had. Her knight in shining armor. Sure Alfie had his flaws, but he made Amber happy never the less. But where was Nina's knight? Her prince charming? All the things that the fairy tales promised. But then again, those were fairy tales and this is reality. And in reality, not everyone gets a happy ending. Nina sighed and stood up. She continued her path towards Anubis House wondering if she'll ever get her fairy tale ending.

Nina entered the house where Alfie was walking out of his room.

"Hey, Nina!" he called and ran up to her. Nina, who was about to head up the stairs, stopped and turned to Alfie.

"Yes, Alfie," she aspirated.

"Which ones are better: ninjas or vampires?"

"I don't know Alfie. Ninjas," Nina guessed, not really wanting to speak to anyone. She slowly began ascending the stairs.

"That's what I said," Alfie exclaimed, but Nina ignored him and continued walking upstairs. In her room Nina fell back on her bed and let out a frustrated scream.

* * *

Nina walked in her room, dressed in jeans and and old band t-shirt, towel drying her hair. Amber, who had finally returned, sat at her vanity painting her nails. Amber's side of the room was covered with shopping bags and shoe boxes in various shapes, sizes, and colors. Nina wondered how Amber managed to get all this stuff in a cab with Mara and Patricia.

"Hey," Nina greeted. Amber turned around and faced Nina.

"Hey. Have a nice shower?" Amber asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Have fun shopping?"

"I would've had more if Patricia wasn't complaining the entire time. She even threaten one of the clerks at this one shop because he was taking too long to find a dress in my size," Amber told Nina.

"Don't you already have like a million dresses?" Nina sat down on her bed, towel in her lap.

"Nina, you can never have too many dresses," Amber stated. Nina rolled her eyes, playfully.

"Well I'm going to ask Trudy when supper will be ready." Amber stood up and began walking with her freshly painted toes raised. She blew on her fingernails as she shuffled her way to the door. Nina looked at Amber with an amused looked on her face. When Amber reached their bedroom door, she looked at Nina.

"Nina, could you..." Nina got up and opened to the door. Amber smiled gratefully and shuffled out of the room. Nina shut the door behind Amber and sat down on her bed then grabbed her laptop. She was about to finish writing her report when a video chat request popped up. Nina smiled as she read the screen name: _Mustache_Freak(:_

Nina clicked 'Accept'.

"Hey, Nikki!" she greeted. A beautiful, brown hair, brown eyed girl appeared on Nina's screen.

"Hey, Neens!" she smiled. A pretty girl, with bright red hair and big brown eyes's, face appeared in the screen.

"Hi, Nina!" she said and sat down next to Nikki.

"Hey, Catherine," Nina replied. "So what's up?"

"Well, we've been talking and we've decided that it's time to put out an album," Catherine explained. "A record company already wants to sign us and we discussed it with Sara and Tamie and they agreed. I mean it's been over two and half years since we put out anything, Nina. My dad says people are starting to think we're dead."

Nina giggled at Catherine's last statement.

"So what do you say?" Catherine asked. Nina was silent as she thought about whether or not to take the job. After about a minute Nina said, "Yes."

"You'll do it?" Catherine got excited. Nina nodded.

"Yes!" Catherine cheered.

"Uh, I would reconsider that desicion before Cathy leads a parade," Nikki commented.

"Why?" Nina wondered.

"The record company is international, like _INTERNATIONAL_," Nikki explained. "Which means North America won't be the only place that'll know about us. Our music will also be sold in Europe, parts of Asia, Australia, South America. It's going to be a huge thing. Your school life in England is going to change drastically. The question is: Are you ready for that?" Nina remained silent, thinking over what Nikki had just said.

"And just so you know, whatever you decide we will support you one hundred percent," Nikki quickly added. Catherine nodded. After a few moments, which felt like hours to all three girls, Nina answered.

"Let's make an album," Nina grinned.

"YEAH!" "Yes!" Catherine and Nikki cheered and they high-fived.

"Okay, so the main studio's in London, but they have a smaller studio in Liverpool, near you're school. So it'll be convent for you. We'll be flying in probably next week," Catherine said. "We'll most likely be staying for two maybe three months." Nina nodded.

"And we'll try to do as much stuff without you, you know because of school and everything. But you're going to have to meet up with for writing and recording, meetings, all that stuff," Nikki added. "And you'll need to be in London time to time."

"And Richie will send you the contract in the mail," Catherine stated.

"Richie?" Nina questioned.

"The guy who owns the record company. His name's Richard but Cathy calls him Richie to annoy him," Nikki explained. Catherine giggled.

"But anyway. So you'll have to read and sign the contract while you're at Anubis. And be sure to read carefully, we don't need a repeat of what happened last time," Nikki reminded.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault. Those shrimp were huge!" Nina cried.

"You're just lucky we were able to get the songs on the EP without all that autotuning and remixing crap," Nikki replied.

"Okay," Nina sighed. "I'll read carefully. Don't worry."

"NIKKI!" Nina could her a woman yell on Nikki's side of the video chat. Nikki looked back before turning to her webcam.

"My mom's calling me. I'll talk to you later," she said.

"Tell her I said hi," Nina requested.

"Kay. See you in a week," Nikki replied.

"Bye!" Catherine waved before Nikki ended the chat. Nina sighed and closed her laptop. She closed her eyes and leaned back on her headboard.

"We're making an album," she said to herself.

* * *

**A/N: ****Catherine is played by Ariana Grande**

**Tamara aka Tamie is played by Cymphonique Miller**

**Nicole aka Nikki is played by Victoria Justice**

**Sara is played by Janel Parrish**


	2. Chapter 2

**Characters will seem the most OOC in this chapter so far.**

* * *

Nina and Fabian entered Miss Valentine's class. Almost a week had pass since Nina found Fabian kissing another girl, and Nina still hadn't broken up with him yet alone told him she knew he was cheating on her. But that was all apart of her plan.

They walked over to a desk in the very front row and Fabian took a seat. Nina was about sit next to him, when the one person she absolutely despised enter the classroom. And no, it was not Joy. Actually, Nina and Joy have gotten along a lot better recently. They weren't exactly friends, but they were on okay terms.

The person who walked in went by the name of Danielle Golden. She was the queen bee of the school. Filty rich and just as bitchy. With her perfect platinum blonde hair, her designer clothes, and snotty attitude, girls either hated her, wanted to be her friend, or just plain old wanted to be her. But each of them were intidimated by her just the same. Well, except for Patricia, Nina, Amber, and Joy.

As for the guys, well, most of them just wanted to be her new boy toy. But very few actually see the devil inside and dislike her.

But the main reason why Nina hated Danielle, apart from her existing, was because she never stopped picking on her. For some odd reason, Danielle decided Nina would be her new target in the "Let's Make Someone Else's Life Miserable" game.

Danielle walked up to Nina. The strong smell of her over intoxicating perfume made Nina want to gag.

"What do you want, Danielle?" Nina asked.

"What? Can't a friend visit another friend?" Danielle pondered.

"Yeah, but you're not my friend," Nina stated.

"Oh, boo woo woo. I could just cry," Danielle fake weeped. "But I won't," she said in her normal, bitchy, tone. Nina rolled her eyes.

"Anyways," Danielle continued, "I just came by to tell you that Mr. Winkler is producing a school musical."

"So?" Nina replied, obviously tired of Danielle talking to her.

"I just wanted to let you know that you won't be getting the lead. I will."

"What's makes you so sure that I won't the lead?" Nina retorted. Nina honestly didn't care about the musical. She didn't even want to audition, but Danielle was starting to get under her skin and she wasn't going to take an insult.

"Sweetie, I've seen you act. You're not very good. Not to mention your hog calling pig snorting stuff you American folk call music," Danielle said in a Southern American accent.

"That's offensive on so many levels. You don't see me dissing Britian, do?" Nina told Danielle.

"Whatever," Danielle rolled her eyes. "Bye, Loser." She looked down at Fabian. "Later, Fabes," she said a flirtacious smile then winked. Nina stared at Danielle as she walked to the other side of the room.

_"No," _Nina thought. _"It couldn't be. Fabian couldn't have been making out with Danielle. He knows how I feel about her." _

She looked at Fabian who was smiling as he watched Danielle. Nina picked up her stuff and made her way to the back of the classroom. She sat down next to Joy just as the tardy bell rang. Miss Valentine entered the classroom and set her stuff on her desk.

"Good, afternoon," she smiled. "Alright. Let's open our books to page 102, please."

* * *

The bell rang, signaling class was over, and everyone exited the classroom.

"NINA! NINA!" Amber called after Nina, whom was walking down the hall. Amber finally caught up to her roommate and best friend at her locker.

"Hey, what was that about?" she asked.

"What was what about?" Nina put her World Literature book in her locker and pulled out her Science textbook.

"Sitting with Joy in English," Amber specified. "Why did you move?"

"Amber, it's nothing," Nina said and shut her locker. Nina hadn't really mentioned to Amber the whole catching Fabian cheat on her thing yet.

"It's not nothing. Does it have to do with what Danielle might've said to you?" Amber questioned.

"No."

"Did Fabian do something?"

"No," Nina lied.

"Then, what is it?"

Nina was about to respond when her phone vibrated. She looked at her phone then back at Amber.

"Who's that?" Amber inquired.

"No one," Nina replied a little too quickly. Amber looked from Nina to the phone then back at Nina. She quickly reached for Nina's phone but Nina pulled her hand back, making it out of reach. Amber reached for it a second time but Nina moved her hand again.

"Who just texted you?" Amber questioned, putting her hand back by her side.

"No one. It was just an alert," Nina told her friend.

"If it was just an alert than why can't I see it?"

"Cause it's my phone and my privacy," Nina stated. Amber reached for the phone again, but Nina hid it behind her back.

"Niinnnaaaa!" Amber whined. "What are you hiding from me?

"I'm not hiding anything," Nina replied. "Anyway, I'm going to be late for class. I'll see you later." And with that, Nina left.

* * *

Nina walked into the girls' toilets and went into a stall, locking the door behind her. She pulled out her iPhone and read the text that she had received:

_**Tamzee (:**_

_Hey. Just wanted to let u kno that me and the girls arrived in England. We'll b staying a hotel near the Liverpool studio 4 a few weeks b4 we head over to London. Richard will mail u the recording contract 2morrow or the day after. Call me later. Luv and miss u._

_-Tamie_

Nina sighed. She had completely forgotten about the girls coming to England so they could work on their album. I mean, she was definitely ready to get some new music out in the public. She had written a few songs over the course of the last week, mainly about Fabian cheating and everything, but she also had a bunch of songs she had written in the last two and a half years. She was also ready to start performing and see the fans again. She loved seeing the smiles on the fans' faces or hearing them sing along to one of their songs. But one thing she wasn't completely ready for, was the life that came with it.

* * *

It was supper and everyone was seated enjoying a delicious meal of Chinese take out. Trudy was sick and Mara suggested that they should have a take away meal. Alfie wanted pizza, Jerome wanted Chinese, and Patricia wanted Indian. Eveyone took a vote and Chinese won.

"So Nina. What did Danielle say to you in English today?" Jerome asked. Jerome was one of the very few guys who weren't particularly fond of Danielle Golden. He used to be one of her targets a few years back, before she moved on to other "prey." But now that her new target is Nina, Jerome became a little more protective, especially since he knows what Danielle's capable of. If you thought Joy and Patricia were bad, you haven't seen anything yet.

"She told Nina that she wouldn't get the lead in the musical," Fabian answered for Nina.

"Well, yeah," Alfie said. Nina looked at Alfie and crossed her arms.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" she snapped.

"Nothing. Nothing," Alfie waved her off.

"I could get the lead if I wanted to," Nina stated.

"No offense, Nina. But I've heard you sing in the shower a few weeks ago. You're not that good," Patricia commented.

"_THAT'S_ what that was?!" Eddie exclaimed. "I thought that was a walrus dying or something." And soon, everyone's, excluding Mara, voices overlapped, talking about what they thought Nina's, supposedly, horrible singing was.

Nina stormed out of the the dining room and went to her room, not that anyone really noticed. She sat down on her bed. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her friends and housemates don't believe in her and think she was a horrible singer because of the one time she sang in the shower. And to her defense, she was sick had a sore throat. Don't ask why she would sing when she knew she had a sore throat, but she did. And now everyone's judging her.

After twenty minutes of sitting alone in her room, staring into space, Nina heard the door open. She looked up and saw Amber walk in. It was obvious Amber was recovering from a laugh just by the way she was breathing.

"Oooh,"Amber breathed. She shut the bedroom door. "Supper was fun, don't you think?" Amber asked and shut the door behind walking to her vanity.

"Yeah. _Amazing_," Nina said sarcasticly, which Amber did not seem to notice.

"I know, right! And part about your singing was _hilarious_!" Amber commented.

"I don't see what was so funny about that," Nina stated.

"Oh, come on, Nina. It's not like you were being serious about the musical. You and I both know you don't have what it takes to be a performer," Amber said, brushing her hair. Nina looked at Amber in disbelief. _"Is this what Amber really thinks of me?" _Nina thought.

"Oh and I suppose you do?" Nina's voice was filled with bitterness. "And least I got a part in the school play last year, while you were stuck being a stupid cactus. The only entertaining thing that _you_ did was dance on stage with Jerome and Alfie." Nina was beyond angry right now. Amber looked at Nina with a hurt expression.

"You know what," Nina continued. "I don't care what you think. You know, I should be able to do what I enjoy, whether I'm good at it or not, without having my so-called friend laugh at me about it. I thought you had more character than that."

Nina left the room, leaving a hurt and guilty Amber behind.

Nina walked outside to the front porch. She knew that she shouldn't have said those to things to Amber. She was upset and when you're upset, you tend to say things you don't mean. And Nina knew that she shouldn't get too offended over the fact that everyone thinks she's a bad singer. Especially since she knows that she can sing. But it was the principle or whatever you want to call it.

Nina sighed. She needed to get out of Anubis. Just for a while. She needed time to relax and to prove her friends and housemates wrong. That she _did_ have what it takes to be a performer.

Nina pulled out her phone a dialed a number. "Hey, Catherine. What hotel are you guys staying at?"

* * *

Nina sat up in her bed, eyes adjusting to the darkness. She looked over to Amber's side of the room and saw that Amber was fast asleep. Nina quietly got out of bed and reached under it, pulling out a fully packed suitcase. Nina pulled out a pair of jeans that she also had hidden under the bed along with a pair of TOMS. She pulled the jeans on over her pajama shorts, slipped on the TOMS, and grabbed her coat she had hanging on her footboard. She picked up her suitcase and tiptoed out of the room, careful not to wake Amber.

In the hall, Nina set down her suitcase and pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. She checked the time. 1:14 AM. She put her phone back in her pocket and walked to the stairs with her suitcase. She sneaked down the stairs and headed to the front door.

Her hand was just about to touch the doorknob when she heard, "Nina?"

Nina turned around and saw a confused and sleepy Mara standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"What are you doing?" Mara whispered. "Are you running away?"

Nina sighed before replying.

"Pack a bag. We're going to be to be gone for a while."

* * *

**A/N: Just so you know, Nina doesn't always save her contacts by their real names. Unless it's someone she's not really close to or someone prefessional. She either uses nicknames or funny names that she enjoys.**

**I may post the next chapter tonight. Not sure. Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Nina, I'm kind of scared to be walking on campus at night," Mara stated. After a lot protests and begging, Nina had finally persuaded Mara to come with her to the hotel. She even helped Mara sneak in and out of her room and pack a suitcase without waking up her roommates.

"Relax, Mara. We're only walking to the front of the school," Nina replied. They rounded a corner where a gray SUV was parked in front of the main school building. A man, whom was sitting in the driver's seat, stepped out of the vehicle when the two girls were in sight.

"Miss Martin," he greeted with a thick Britsh accent.

"Sebastian, please. You know I liked to be called Nina." Nina gave the old man a quick hug.

"Sebastian, this is Mara. Mara this is my chauffeur and a close family friend of mine, Sebastian," Nina introduced.

"Hi," Mara stuck her hand out. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Sebastian returned the hand shake. "Okay, well we better get going. We have a long drive to the hotel." Sebastian grabbed each of the girls' suitcases and walked to the back of the car. Not wanting to be standing on the dark, empty campus much longer, Mara and Nina got in the car.

After Sebastian packed the suitcases in the trunk of the SUV, he made his way to the driver's seat and drove off.

Nina stared out her window, admiring the beautiful countryside. She watched as multiple buildings disappeared from her sight as the car passed. She noticed that the grass was still wet from the rain they had recieved earlier that evening and calmly listened as the tires drove across the slick roads, with the occasional splash as the car drove over puddles or small bodies of water on the sides of the road.

Mara, whom herself was staring out her own window broke the peaceful, unawkward, silence .

"So are you going to tell me why you needed me to come with you? Or why you're leaving?" She questioned.

Nina sighed. "It's a long story." Nina averted her eyes from the window and looked at Mara.

"We've got plenty of time," Mara told Nina.

"Alright, well," Nina sighed again. "Where do I begin?" Nina asked herself.

"Okay, when I was about fourteen years old, I was very different than I am now. I mean not too different, but very different. I used to be shy and awkward and I didn't necessarily look the best with my braces, zits, fizzy hair, and these _ridiculous_ glasses. I was always picked on.

Well one day, I had gotten detention my first week of high school. It was in the middle of the school year, right after my parents had passed, and I had to transfer schools when I moved in with my gran. Well this of kids were picking on me, knocking books out of my hands, calling me names, and by the time the tardy bell rang, I had barely picked up any of my stuff.

Well, anyway, one of the twelfth grade teachers caught me, and didn't know I was a new student nor did she care, and had given me detention.

At detention, I met four other girls and two guys. They were all very different, but looked like good people never-the-less. Well the teacher, that was suppose to watch us, left early because his wife was in labor and he just kinda left us. And, I don't know, we just started talking and soon we all became friends.

Well a couple months later, after I gotten my braces off, discovered makeup, and hair product, we discovered that we all loved to sing. Well the boys preferred to rap, but still.

And we all started writing a few songs together and one day the girls and I were sitting at a park singing some of the songs we wrote, when this man showed up. Apparently he owned a record label. He talked to us and told us he wanted to sign us. And after a HUGE negotiation and begging with our parents and my gran, we became a band or girl group, whatever you want to call it. And before I came to Anubis, we put out an EP, did a few small performances and we were somewhat famous.

But at the time, the man who owned the recording company he wasn't very... _expanded_, for lack of a better word, when we started working with him. He had just started the label a few years before and the only countries that could legally buy our music was America, Canada, and Mexico. And Puerto Rico and some a couple other small islands and territories," Nina added.

"Anyway, because of that, I was able to live a normal life at Anubis." _'Well as far as she knows a normal life,' _Nina thought.

"After we released the EP and our schedule's were starting to clear up, my friends and I put the group on hold so we could do different things. School, travel, etcetera. And last week a couple of them called me and informed me that another record label, here in England, wants to sign us and have us put out an album. So that's why I was leaving, well, part of the reason. And I needed you to come with so

a) you could keep me company and

b) so you wouldn't tell anyone that I was leaving. Seriously, Mara. You can't not tell anyone about any of this. Not until I'm ready."

"I promise," Mara replied. "But what are we going to tell everyone when they find out we're gone?"

"I called my gran and she's gonna tell the school that I had some family emergency and I took you with me. It's not the best lie and it's a little vague, but it should let them know we're safe." Mara nodded.

"We're here," Sebastian said as he pulled up in front of a fifteen story, five star hotel. Sebastian stepped out of the SUV and opened Nina's door. Mara and Nina exited the car. Sebastian walked to the back of the SUV to retrieve Nina and Mara's suitcases. When he returned, Nina gave him a thankful hug.

"Thanks, Sebastian," she said.

"No problem, Miss- Nina," Sebastain corrected himself. Nina smiled.

"Have a good night," Sebastian stated and got back into the car.

"You, too," Mara and Nina replied. Sebastian gave them one finally wave before driving off.

Mara and Nina walked to the hotel entrance where a polite doorman held the door open as they passed. They entered the lobby, where very few people were walking across the marble floors. The chandelier reflected light across the cream walls, drawing attention the fancy tan sofas and chairs in the center of the giant room. Beautiful bouquets of flowers were placed around the lobby, along with ferns and other indoor plants.

The night manager, a man with dark blonde hair, was asleep at his post as Nina and Mara made their way to him.

"Excuse me," Mara gentle shook the man, who suddenly jumped up in surprise, surprising the girls themselves.

"Um," a startled Nina began. "We'd like a room, please." Nina made a gesture between her and Mara. The, surprisingly very young, night manager looked weirdly at the two girls.

"O-okay," he said. Mara and Nina looked at each other confused before realizing something.

"NO! No no no," Nina and Mara repeated multiple times.

"Not like that," Nina informed. "Just two hetersexual friends. Who are both very into guys," Nina explained. The night manager looked somewhat relieved.

"Oh, alright then," he said and started typing on the computer. After a few moments, the man handed Mara a paper.

"Sign here," he instructed. Mara wrote her signature on the paper and handed it back to the employee, whom handed Nina two hotel room keys.

"Here you are. Third floor. Room 813. Single room, double suite."

"Thanks," Mara replied and started walking to the elevator. Nina was about to follow but the night manager stopped her.

"Uh. Sorry for the confusion," he apologized.

"No worries. When two attractive young women walked into a hotel together, you gotta wonder," Nina teased. The manager chuckled.

"You're funny," he said.

"Thanks," Nina smiled. "Uh, I'll see you around." Nina headed towards the elevator.

"Wait! What's your name?!" the night manager called after her.

"NINA MARTIN!" she yelled back before entering the elevator, Mara had kept from closing.

* * *

Jerome, Joy, Patricia, Alfie, Eddie, and Fabian, who were all dressed in their uniforms, were eating breakfast.

"Fabian, pass the milk," Patricia requested. Fabian handed the milk to Eddie, who handed it to Patricia. Amber walked into the dining room, looking distressed. She sat in her normal chair, next to Jerome, and looked to her right.

"Where's Nina?" she asked.

"Didn't you see her upstairs?" Patricia asked, spreading jam on her toast.

"No. I assumed that she came down to breakfast early to avoid me," Amber explained.

"Why would she avoid you?" Eddie questioned.

"We kind of got into a fight," Amber admitted.

"What about?" Alfie pondered.

"Nothing. I don't want to talk about it," Amber dismissed the conversation and grabbed a slice of toast from the middle of the table.

"You know," Patricia set her toast and knife down. "Now that I think about it. I haven't seen Mara either."

"Maybe she went to school early," Joy suggested. "You know to work on an article or something."

"Maybe," Patricia said. Trudy walked into the dining room on her way into the kitchen.

"Trudy," Patricia called. Trudy stopped in her tracks. "Have you seen Nina or Mara?"

"Oh! Nina's gran just called. She said that there was some kind of family emergency and Nina left in the middle of the night and took Mara with her."

"What kind of family emergency?" Fabian asked.

"I don't know. She said it very important and that Nina will be gone for about a month maybe two. Mara may return early, but nothing's for sure," Trudy explained then entered the kitchen.

"Wow. I hope everything's okay," Joy commented.

"What confuses me is why Nina took Mara," Jerome mentioned.

"What do you mean?" Alfie questioned.

"Well Mara and Nina have never been close. In fact they've rarely ever spoken to each other. So why would Nina take Mara of all people?"

"Well she was in a fight with Amber," Eddie pointed out.

"Yeah, but she could've taken Fabian, or Patricia, or Joy. Heck, she could've even taken me," Jerome replied. "Point is Mara is probably the last person that Nina would've taken."

"Maybe Nina wanted to get to know Mara better," Alfie guessed.

"During a crisis?" Joy questioned Alfie.

"My aunt got to know a guy during sex," Alfie said.

"Ugh. TMI, dude," Eddie dropped the bacon that was in his hand.

"Come on, let's get to school," Patricia stated, standing up. She and Joy walked out of the dining and soon everyone else followed.


	4. Chapter 4

Nina woke up to foreign room. She was about to jump up, out of surprise, when she remembered she was staying at a hotel. Nina looked over to her right and saw Mara sitting indian style on her made bed, reading a book she had taken with her.

"Morning," Nina said in a tired voice.

"Morning," Mara replied, giving Nina a warm smile. Nina sat up.

"What time is it?" Nina yawned.

"Almost eleven thirty," Mara answered. Nina nodded as a thank you. "So uh, can I ask you something?" Mara asked.

"Sure," Nina replied her normal, slightly upbeat, voice.

"What's going on between you and Fabian?" Mara closed her book and focused her attention on Nina. Nina was surprised by how blunt Mara had been but replied anyway.

"What do you mean?" Nina asked, hoping Mara didn't find out about Fabian's cheating just yet.

"Well, last night- or technically this morning- you were flirting with that young night manager. And you usually never flirt with guys when you're in a relationship. Or so I've heard," Mara explained.

"Listen, Mara," Nina aspirated. "Things between me and Fabian are kinda complicated. And I really don't want to think about it right now." Nina got out bed.

"You know, Nina," Mara commented. "If you ever need someone to talk to. You could always come to me. I'm a good listener. And I'll keep anything you say a secret if you want me to."

"I'll keep that in mind," Nina gave Mara a small smile. "I'm gonna go shower," Nina pointed to the bathroom door. "I'll be quick."

"Take your time. I took a shower a few hours ago. Use all the hot water you want," Mara said.

"Thanks," Nina chuckled. "And when I come out we can order room service."

"'Kay," Mara stated and Nina stepped into the bathroom.

* * *

"Nina how are you paying for all this?" Mara took a bite out of her scrambled eggs. Nina had gotten out of the shower over half an hour ago and she and Mara were, now, sitting on her bed watching a rerun of Doctor Who.

"Well Nicole, one the singers in our group, her mom is our manager and she gave the entire group one credit card for us to use for emergencies, or last minute hotel stays, stuff like that. She has the card herself, but everyone knows the number. Well I texted her about this... _perdicament_ and she said it was fine that I could use it." Nina explained.

"So are you and her mum close?" Mara asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Everyone's kinda friends with everyone."

"Tell me about your friends," Mara took a sip of her juice orange she had placed on the bedside table.

"Well, Nicole is like one the sweetest girls in the world. She's really goofy and not afraid to make a fool of herself and makes a joke out of anything. She has really cool taste in clothes and she's just awesome.

Catherine, like Nikki, is just so sweet. She's your definition of a dork and very giggly and has this infectious laughter that can probably even make Victor laugh." Mara chuckled.

"She very girly, but not annoying girly. And overall just adorable. Tamie, she's amazing. Just so down to earth and just... great. And Sara's crazy. Like if you give her, or actually anyone, chocolate, she'll be flying off the walls, doing crazy dances and stuff. It's hilarious.

The boys are always cracking jokes and they can rap about, just about anything. And I love them with all my heart." Nina said.

"You've missed them, haven't you?" Mara questioned.

"Yeah. They were around when I needed them most and we all have pasts that... we're not proud of or wish could be different," Nina told her housemate. Mara was curious to what she meant, but she remained quiet.

"But enough about my friends. Tell me about you."

"Oh, there's not much to tell." Mara stated.

"I'm sure that's not true," Nina said.

"Really. There's nothing interesting about me. I'm just Mara, the smart girl who's nice to everyone but doesn't have any friends."

"You have friends. What about Patricia? Or Joy?" Nina assured.

"They're more friends with each other than me. Besides, they only come to me for advice, or help with homework. They are there for me, I guess. But they don't ever like hang out with me. At least often," Mara admitted.

"What about Jerome?" Nina asked.

"Jerome's there for me, yes. I do enjoy being around him. But I can't talk to him about girl stuff. That's just weird. And I can't talk to him about him, especially if I'm mad at him or need some advice about him and Mick."

"What do you mean him and Mick?" Nina questioned.

"Well, I really like Jerome and everything and I want to be with him, but I don't want to end my friendship with Mick. He's a good guy and I hurt him by going out with Jerome. But back to the point, I really don't have any friends." Mara played with the eggs on her plate.

"I'll be your friend," Nina smiled. Mara looked up at Nina.

"Really?" Mara asked.

"Yeah. You're a really nice girl and I like hanging out with you. And I know a few other people who are willing to be your friend."

"You not talking about who I think you're talking about," Mara said.

"Mara, it's time for you to meet my band."

* * *

"But I don't understand," Amber whined. She, Fabian, and Patricia walked down the crowded school hallway, on their way to class.

"Why would Nina chose Mara instead of me?"

"Amber, you said yourself, you and Nina got into fight," Patricia said. "She probably didn't want to be around you right then."

"But think about it. If something happened to Joy or someone in her family, and you two were in a fight at the time, wouldn't you set aside your differences and be there for your friend?" Amber asked.

"Yeah," Patricia answered. "But maybe Nina didn't see it that way," Patricia added after she saw the look Amber was giving her.

"Well, what about Fabian?" Amber pointed out. "She could've taken him."

"Yeah, I suppose," Patricia agreed.

"Did you guys get into an arguement?" Amber asked Fabian.

"No," Fabian replied, honestly.

"Did you do something to hurt her?" Amber questioned.

"Of course he wouldn't Amber," Patricia stated. "You're being paranoid."

"You're right," Amber said. "Fabian's a good guy. He wouldn't do anything to hurt Nina. Especially after last time. Right Fabian?" Amber turned her attention to her best guy friend.

"Yeah... right," Fabian replied.

"Come on. Let's get to French," Patricia stated.

"Um, we'll meet you there. I just have ask Amber a question about... my clothes." Fabian told Patricia. Patricia looked at Fabian weirdly but left anyway. Fabian lead Amber by the lockers.

"Stop it," Fabian said.

"Stop what?" Amber asked.

"Trying to make me feel more guilty."

"Well you should feel guilty. I can't believe you would something like that to Nina!" Amber exclaimed.

"And I can't believe you would something like that to Alfie," Fabian retorted. Amber's angry expression turned to a guilty one.

"Not to mention all the stuff _you _doing to Nina," Fabian added. "Are you really going to go through with it?" Amber looked down at her shoes.

"We made a deal," Fabian said. "I'll keep your secret if you keep mine. Mine maybe be bad, but your's is way worse." And with that, Fabian left.

* * *

Nina and Mara walked up seven flights of stairs to the fifteenth floor, where a large man stood, wearing a yellow security jacket. Nina's gran had informed Nina that Richard had reserved the entire top floor to the Angelz, aka Nina's group, to avoid any major disturbances. All friends, family, band members, other important guests that were eligible to get access to the floor were written on a list, which the security guard had in his hand.

When it came to the elevator, another security guard stood near the elevator door, on the seventh floor, to stop any smart alecks who thought they could easily get past by using the elevator.

Nina and Mara walked up to the large security guard.

"I'm Nina. I'm apart of the Angelz," she said.

"Yeah. And I'm Taylor Lautner," the guard replied, sarcastically. Well, that was the overstatement of the century. He didn't even look remotely close to Taylor Lautner. For one, this man was bald, pale, a lot older and a lot... thicker.

"No, really. I'm Nina Martin. Lead singer of the Angelz."

"Listen here sweetheart," the guard said. "Why don't you and your friend go back to your little fanclub and tell them how you _almost _got to meet the Angelz, kay." This man was starting to get on Nina's last nerve.

"Dude, I'm really Nina Martin." _'They should've given this man a picture or something,' _Nina thought.

"Do you have any ID?" the guard asked.

"No," Nina answered.

"Well unless you have any idenfication that you're Nina Martin, I can't let you through."

Nina sighed and pulled out her phone. She dialed a familiar number and put it on speakerphone.

_"Hello?" _a voice asked.

"Hey, Nikki. Quick question, what's my name?" Nina said.

_"Nina Martin?"_ Nikki replied, confused to why Nina was asking this.

"And am I apart of any band or singing group?"

_"Yeah..."_ Nikki was still confused.

"What's the name of it?" Nina questioned.

_"The Angelz,"_ Nikki was beginning to think Nina was crazy.

"Kay, thanks. Bye." Nina hung up the phone leaving Nikki completely and utterly confused.

"I'm sorry, Miss Martin," the guard apologized.

"Yeah, sure," Nina replied, bitterly. She grabbed Mara's hand and walked past the guard. She had barely walked a few feet when she turned around.

"Oh! And add Mara Jaffray to the list," she told the guard and continued her path down the hall.

Nina walked up to a door labeled 1508 and knocked. She heard a voice from the other side yell, "I have pepper spray!" Nina rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Catherine, it's Nina!" Nina said. Her and Mara heard footsteps running to the door. The door yanked open and Nina barely had time to react before a pair of arms wrapped around her.

"Nina!," the red head squealed. "I've missed you sooo much."

"I've missed you, too," Nina smiled.

"Come on," Catherine pulled Nina into the hotel room. Mara followed behind and shut the door.

"Guys, look. Nina's here!" Cathy called. Sara and Tamie ran over from the couch and Nikki came in from the the bedroom.

"Nina" and "Hey" chorused from the girls as they each gave her a hug.

"Guys, this is my friend, Mara," Nina introduced. Mara waved.

"Hi," Nikki, Tamie, and Sara acknowledged.

"Oh hi. Sorry, I didn't see you there," Catherine said, giving Mara a friendly hug.

"Come in, guys, have a seat," Sara requested. Nikki left the room as everyone made there way to the sitting area.

"So what are you doing here?" Sara asked.

"I came here to work on the album," Nina told her.

"Right. Stupid question," Sara stated. "But how have you been?"

"I've been okay. I've definitely had some better times in my life," Nina said.

"Why? What's wrong?" Tamie pondered.

"Just relationship stuff. You know." Tamie and Sara nodded understanding. Nikki walked back into the room carrying two glasses of lemonade.

"Here you go," she handed Mara and Nina each a glass.

"Thank you," Mara told her.

"Thanks," Nina said and took a sip. "So what have you girls been up to? Tamie, I've heard you've been traveling."

"Yeah. Mainly across North America and Europe," Tamie replied. "I'm really hoping I get to go to South America sometime soon. Maybe even Asia or Australia."

"Where have you been so far?" Nina asked.

"Well I've been all over the United States. LA, San Fransico, Disney Land, Disney World. Um, the capital. Mall of America. National Aquariam. I even went down the Texas to see the Alamo."

"What was that like?" Cathy questioned.

"To be honest it was really boring. I mean it was cool to be in a historical place and eveything, but the line took forever and our tour guide was really boring and he spoke with this monotone voice. I almost fell asleep."

"Where else have you been?" Nina said.

"Different parts of Canada. Mexico. I went to Cancun. Um... Italy, France, Spain, Germany. Now I'm here in England," Tamie stated.

"Well you better show me all of your pictures," Nina told her.

"Oh don't worry, I will," Tamie replied.

"So uh how's boarding school, Nina?" Sara asked.

"It's good. It's really confusing understanding some of the stuff they say. Like instead of garbage or trash, they say rubbish. So I get confused with that. They say sweets instead of candy, sometimes they say trainers instead of sneakers. Oh! And instead of fanny pack, they say bum bag." Nina explained.

"A bum bag?" Cathy repeated. Nina nodded. "Like bum-" Cathy touched her hip "Aww! That's so cute!" Cathy exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's really cute," Nikki agreed.

"But other than the miscommunication, what's the school like? Sara asked.

"Fine, I guess. The homework's a lot harder here than in America but overall it's pretty fun. That's where I met Mara," Nina said.

"So Mara what do you like to do?" Nikki inquired.

"Oh, I'm not really that interesting," Mara replied.

"Oh, come on," Cathy said.

"Well... I like to read," Mara told them.

"What kind of books do like to read? Fiction? Poetry?" Tamie questioned.

"Poetry?" Sara repeated.

"Yeah. They have poetry books," Tamie explained.

"Huh," Sara stated, finding the fact intriguing.

"I read all kinds of genres. Fiction, Historical Fiction, Non-fiction, Fantasy. A little bit of Romance, but not much," Mara said.

"You are so lucky," Nikki commented. "We never have time have to read. I mean I would love to read some really good books and stuff, but our schedule's are so packed. The only books we get to read are for school. And a lot of the times, they're pretty boring."

"Well, if you want, I can lend you some of my books that I brought," Mara suggested.

"Really?" Cathy asked.

"Yeah. Just come by to our room and I can give you guys a few."

"Thank you so much," Nikki thanked.

"She's so sweet," Nikki said to Nina. Nina smiled.

"What else do you like to do?" Tamie questioned.

"I write for the school website," Mara stated.

"That's soo cool. Man, you are so lucky to get to do all this stuff," Sara mentioned.

"So what are you guys doing today?" Nina asked her friends.

"We were gonna go shopping," Tamie replied. "Wanna come?"

"Sure," Nina answered.

"What about you, Mara?" Cathy added. "You could help pick out stuff and we can even pay for your clothes."

"Oh, I don't know. I don't really great sense of style," Mara admitted.

"Well it'll be great to have your input," Sara told her.

"And besides, having great style doesn't neccisarrily mean wearing what's in style," Nikki mentioned.

"What do you mean?" Mara questioned.

"Well, your clothes should reflect your personality and who you are. And you should be comfortable in what you wear," Tamie added.

"Yeah," Sara agreed. "I could easily put you in one of Cat's girly dresses. And it may be in style but it doesn't mean it's your style."

"Exactly," Nina said. "Like Nikki. She has great style but she doesn't just shop at Hollister. She and Cathy shop at flee markets, vintage shops. They even wear some their mom's hand-me-downs and they still look very stylish.

"And it's not just what you wear, it's how you wear it," Nikki commented. "Now there are some do's and don'ts but it really is how you wear your clothes."

"Yeah," Catherine agreed. "If you're comfortable and confident in what you wear, it shows in the way you walk, your facial expressions. It's what draws people to you. And so does being uncomfortable and lacking confidence. You want the first one otherwise it'll look like you're trying too hard. But we can help you if you want us to."

"I'd like that," Mara grinned.

"Yay," Catherine cheered.

"I'll call Sebastian," Nikki said, dialing on her phone as she walked out of the room.

Sara and Tamie began talking to each other as Catherine started harmonizing random lyrics from a song.

"Catherine's a really amazing singer," Mara commented.

"Yeah. She can hit the high notes like no other," Nina said. "But her vocal coach that she had when she was a kid really pushed her to the max when it came to her singing. Which made her grow as a performer. So that's one of the reasons why she's so amazing. Apart from just pure talent."

Nikki returned to the room. "Sebastian will be here in ten minutes."

"Okay. Let me get my purse," Cathy stated and she and Sara walked into the bedroom. Nikki walked to where Nina was sitting and gave her a hug from behind.

"I'm so glad you're here," she smiled, before she released.

"Ready!" Cathy said when she and Sara returned with their purses.

Tamie, Nina, and Mara stood up and followed Cathy, Sara, and Nikki to the door.

"You know that security guard is really obnoxious," Nina mentioned.

"Oh, Robert. Yeah, my mom hired him," Nikki explained. "He maybe rude but he and Marcos, the guy at the elevator, are really good at keeping out any unwanted vistors."

"When does Juan get here?" Nina asked.

"Not until the album is promoted," Nikki replied. Juan is the Angelz's personal bodyguard slash security guard. He is the girls' favorite bodyguard since he's actually nice to them and super funny. He used to be a pro wrestler and is good friends with Tamie's father, which is how he got the job. He is usually used when the girls have concerts or go to huge events.

"Awww," Nina whined. The girls walked past Robert, or a Nina calls him, baldy. The man gave them a forced smile. The girls returned the ungeniune smile with one of their own, and walked down the flight of stairs.

* * *

The six girls walked outside to see a 2012 Honda Pilot parked by the curb. Sebastian stood outside the car, waiting. Once he saw the girls exit the hotel, he opened the back convential door for the girls to the enter the car.

"Hey, Sebastian," Cathy greeted as she entered the car, followed by Sara and Tamie. The three girls sat in the very back of the car as Nikki, Nina, and Mara sat in the seats in the middle. Sesbastain shut the door before entering through the driver's side. Sebastain started the car and eased into traffic.

"How did they get an American SUV into the UK?" Sara asked as she noticed the driver's seat was on the left side of the car.

"We shipped it," Sebastain answered.

"You can ship a car?" Cathy wondered.

"You can ship a lot of things, dear. In fact, we even had your cars shipped over here." Sebastain mentioned.

"What?" Tamie said.

"No way," Nikki stated.

"Yes. There are currently in a parking garage in London. But you can't drive until you pass the driver's test here. You may be able to drive in the US, but it's different in the UK."

"We have to go through driver's ed again?" Nina complained.

"It may be easier this time since you all are comfortable behind the wheel already, you just have to reverse everything and learn the speed limits."

"The reversing is what's going to be confusing," Sara stated. "It was hard enough driving on the right side of the road."

"If I can do it, you girls can do it." Sebastain told them.

"If I can do it, you girls can do it," Sara mocked in terrible British accent. All the girls laughed. Sebastian even cracked a smile.

* * *

Nina, Nikki, Catherine, Tamie, Sara, and Mara walked into a clothing store. The walls were painted a hot pink and the shelfs and furniture where a solid white. Clothes, accessories all hung on either racks on the walls or racks that stood on the floor. Shoes, hats, sunglasses were all placed on shelfs or displays. Dressed maniquins stood in different areas in the store, including the windows for display.

The girls made their way to the shirt and tops section and began browsing.

"So Nina, I've been meaning to ask you," Cathy said as she looked through some shirts. "When you called me last night, you seem a little upset. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. It's just something that's going on with my housemates," Nina replied. Nina took a tank top off the rack and showed it to Nikki. "What about this?"

"Depends. Are you planning on becoming a stripper?" Nikki said.

"Yeah... It is a little revealing." Nina agreed and put back where she found it. "But anyway. It's not that big of deal," Nina went back to Cathy's question.

"Are you sure?" Sara asked. Cathy showed Tamie a shirt and Tamie nodded in approval. "You seemed pretty upset. What was the thing about?"

Sara and Mara were admiring a dress Mara had found on a rack as Nina told her story. "Okay, well, a few weeks ago, I had a sore throat and was singing in the shower-"

"Why in the world would sing in the shower if you knew you had a sore throat?" Nikki interjected.

"I don't know. I was trying to see if the steam would help my voice," Nina admitted. "Anyway, apparently one of my housemates, Patricia, heard me. Now they've have never heard me sing, so when Patricia heard me, she assumed it was my real voice. Which obviously it wasn't. But this girl at my school told me that I wouldn't make the lead in the musical, and my housemates agreed, saying I don't have what it takes to be a performer and what not.

And I know I shouldn't let it get to me, especially since I know that have what it takes to be a performer, but-"

"It still hurt?" Tamie said.

"Yeah. And mainly just the fact that they don't believe in me or support me," Nina stated.

"Well if they're gonna make fun of you rather than support you, then maybe they're not your friends after all," Tamie told Nina.

"Maybe," Nina replied.

"So that's the reason you were upset?" Sara asked.

"Part of. The other reason was 'cause my boyfriend cheated on me." Nina mentioned. The other five girls froze and looked in her direction.

"What?" Tamie asked.

"Fabian cheated on you?" Mara said in disbelief. "With who?"

"Danielle Golden," Nina replied.

"Danielle Golden?" Mara repeated. "Is he out of his mind?"

"Who's Danielle Golden?" Cathy questioned.

"The girl who said I wouldn't make the lead in the musical. And also the girl who's been bullying and tormenting me for the last year," Nina answered.

"Ugh. I hate people like that," Nikki commented. "I mean what ever happened to being nice to people?"

"Not everyone was raised the way you were Nic," Cathy said. "You were raised to treat others the way you want to be treated. Not everyone does that."

"Still, I think bullies are sick people who enjoy making people miserable to hide their own insecurities," Nikki stated.

"Well, there's not much we can do about it," Sara mentioned. "We can try our best to get rid of bullying and cyberbullying but we can never get rid of it completely."

"And we do get, too," Tamie added. "You know the haters."

"I still hate it," Nikki muttered. She took a dress off a rack and handed it to Mara.

"Here, Mara, try this on," Nikki instructed. Mara looked at the dress with uncertainty.

"Um..."

"If you don't like it or if you feel uncomfortable, we can put it back. No worries," Nikki reminded. Mara hesitantly took the dress and walked into one of the nearby dressing rooms.

"What about this dress?" Nikki held up a pink, brown, and cream floral, deep v-neck spaghetti strap dress.

Cathy gasped. "That is soo cute!" she exclaimed. "You could wear that brown tank top underneath and wear those brown ballet flats you got last week. That would be really cute."

"Brown flats or nude?" Nikki asked, eyeing the dress.

"Hmm..." Cathy thought carefully as she stared at the dress. Her thoughts were interrupted when Mara stepped out of the dressing room.

"Well?" Mara asked. Everyone looked towards her.

"Wooow," Nina commented.

"You look amazing," Cathy said. Mara was wearing a simple orange, spaghetti strap, knee length sundress with a triangle top, showing a little cleavage.

"Really?" Mara asked, uncertain.

"Yeah. But the question is do you like it?" Tamie said.

"Yeah, I guess," Mara replied, glancing at the dress.

"Are you comfortable?" Nina questioned. Mara studied the dress as she thought about her answer.

"...Yeah. I am actually," Mara finally answered.

"Awesome," Nikki stated. "You go change and we'll add it with everything else."

"Alright," Mara said and walked back into the dressing room as everyone else continued browsing.

* * *

**Please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Just to clear things up, Fabian actually really did cheat on Nina with Danielle. He didn't do anything with Amber, even though it may seem like it. I actually did think about before I published the story, but then I changed it. But I will tell you that Amber DID cheat on Alfie, but it has nothing to do with Nina. Amber is going to do something bad to Nina, or a least something that will effect Nina, but I'm not going to tell you quite yet. I know you're all anxious and probably confused, but all will be revealed soon. (:**

**This chapter is sorta uneventful in my opinion. Not my best, but enjoy!**

* * *

Tamie, Nikki, Sara, Cathy, and Mara walked into the lobby carrying loads of shopping bags. Nina, who was very far behind as she had tipped Sebastian when arrived at the hotel, followed. A certain dark blonde made his way next to her on her way to the elevator.

"Hey, Nina!" he called. Nina turned around and saw the night manager from the night before jog up to her.

"Hey," Nina greeted when he finally caught up to her. "I thought you were a night manager," Nina said when she noticed he was wearing red swim trunks and a white t-shirt that said 'Lifeguard' on it.

"No, that was just for that night," the young man said.

"Oh," Nina replied.

"My dad owns the place," he mentioned.

"Oooh," Nina understood.

"I help out whenever I can,"

"Well aren't you a helpful and devoted son," Nina teased. The man chuckled.

"Before this conversation goes any further, how old are you?" Nina asked. "I don't want any of us to be considered a pedophile for interacting with one another." The young man laughed.

"I'm nineteen," he said. "How old are you?"

"I'm about to turn seventeen," Nina replied.

"Well looks like no one's going to considered a pedophile anytime soon." An amused chuckle escaped Nina's lips as a response to the young man's statement. The two finally reached the pair of elevators where Nikki and Sara were waiting.

"I guess I'll see you around," the guy said and began to walk away.

"Wait! What's _your _name?!" Nina called. The young man turned around, walking backwards, and shrugged with a smirk on his on his face before jogging away.

"Who's the mystery guy?" Nikki questioned, causing Nina to turn her attention towards her.

"No one," Nina replied.

"Oh, come on Nina. We can totally see he's interested in you," Sara said.

"No one's interested in anyone," Nina stated. "It's just a little innocent flirting."

"How can it be innocent? Have you seen his biceps?" Nikki asked. Nina rolled her eyes and chuckled before pressing the up elevator button on the wall next to Nikki.

"I'm being serious," Nikki said as the elevator door opened and Nina stepped inside.

* * *

Nina entered her room. Mara, who stood at the foot of her bed, was sorting through her many shopping bags.

"Hey," Mara greeted. She folded a cute floral tank top and placed it neatly on her on top her duvet.

"Hey," Nina replied and set her bags on the floor. Nina fell back on her bed and sighed. "I am sooo tired," she aspirated. "I don't know how Amber does this stuff. If it were up to me, I would stick to online shopping."

Mara giggled and folded another top she held in her hand. She set in the neat stack before moving on to another article of clothing.

"Oh, Mara. Just a heads up. Nikki's mom called and told us that she had rented the group an apartment for us to stay in for the three months that they're here. We'll be moving in there next week, so don't get too comfortable."

"Alright," Mara responded. She had folded the last of her shirts and placed it neatly in her opened suitcase on the floor. "I'm gonna go take a shower," Mara stated and headed to the bathroom.

Nina sat up in bed and grabbed her mini laptop out of her backpack. She turned it on and waited for it to load. After typing in her password, Nina opened an internet browser. She went to Twitter and decided to make a new account. She had one previously, but had deleted it over a year ago.

Nina quickly went through the tutorial, skipping some of the unimportant steps, and made her account.

She quickly followed Nikki, Sara, Cathy, Tamie, and some of her favorite artists, actors, movie directors, old coworkers, etc.

After a few adjustments and customizing, Nina looked over her account. Her background was a solid baby blue color with soft green polka dots.

Nina's profile picture was of her and Cathy. The picture was focused on the girls' heads. Cathy was behind Nina, her arms wrapped around Nina's neck, giving her a hug. The girls were each wearing a pair of nerd glasses. Nina's were blue and Cathy's were pink. They were both smiling brightly to the camera.

Nina looked over her bio information next to her profile pic.

Nina Martin  
Nina_Martin  
_'Singer. Antiques collector. Apple pie lover. Golden Rule supporter. Lead Singer of the Angelz. Thanx for all who supported me. Much love! x'_  
Spain- USA- Liverpool

Nina had a link to her youtube account posted underneath her biography.

Nina had zero tweets, was currently following one hundred and two people, and had, at the time, zero followers.

Nina opened a new tab and created an Instagram. On there, she used the same account name, followed the same people she followed on twitter, the ones that had an Instagram account anyway; and instead of the picture she used on Twitter, she had a simple headshot of her wearing a cowboy hat from when she went horseback riding over Christmas break.

She had also made a Keek acount. She never really understood Keek, but she made one anyway.

Nina went back to her twitter page and noticed Nikki's tweet in her newsfeed.

_** Nikki_Tyler**__  
'Hey, Angels!* Follow our awesome lead singer Nina at __** Nina_Martin**__. RT! x'_

Nina saw that Tamie, Sara, Cathy, and a few other unknown people had retweeted this.

Nina noticed that she had, now, over twenty followers. She knew four of them were Nikki, Tamie, Cathy, and Sara. A couple others would probably be some of people she had worked with. Stylists, make up artists, etc. And the rest were either fans, or old friends.

Nina began humming a random tune. She was really bored and there wasn't much to do. She knew that she had the option to watch TV, but there probably wasn't anything interesting to watch. Especially in the middle of the week.

Nina picked up the hotel phone and called for room service. She was getting hungry and didn't want to wait for Mara to get out of the shower. She ordered her and Mara spaghetti with a side of salad and garlic bread. She ordered a Coke for herself and Sprite for Mara.

Nina asked when's the soonest they could get the food to their room and the employee told her about twenty-five to thirty minutes. Nina placed the phone back in its cradle and picked her bag off the floor. After rummaging through it for a few moments, she pulled out a slip of paper that had the record company's address and contact information. Nina quickly logged into her email and created a new message to Richard Moore. In her email, she told him that she would be able to make the meeting the next day and asked if her, or any of the Angelz, were allowed to mention to the fans about the making of the album.

Nina clicked send when simultaneously her phone went off.

She pulled her iPhone out of her back jean pocket and saw she had two text messages. One from Amber and one from Fabian.

Amber's text had said: _'Hey. Is everything alright?'_

Fabian's text had said: _'Are you okay? What happened?'_

She really didn't feel like talking to either of them right now, but replied anyway. She texted to Amber:

**'Yeah. I'm fine. Can't talk right now.'**

Nina texted Fabian: **'I'm okay. Don't know much of the details yet.'**

Nina's phone went off again. She noticed she had gotten a reply from Fabian, but not Amber.

Fabian replied: _"Alright. Hope everything's okay. Luv u. (: x." _

Nina scoffed when she read the last line. _'If you love me so much then why would you cheat?'_ Nina thought. She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind and replied. **'Luv u 2. x'**

It was the truth, she did love him. But saying it felt more forced then genuine since she knew Fabian probably didn't love her back. A least as much as she thought.

Nina set her phone aside and looked at her laptop. She saw her inbox tab had a (1) next to it. She clicked on it and discovered Richard had emailed her back. She opened it.

* * *

_Dear Miss Martin,_

_I am pleased to hear that you will be able to make it the meeting tomorrow. That will help greatly with the contract signing and other important details to your work. _

_To answer you question about telling the public about the album, I will allow you and the rest of the Angelz mention to the fans that an album is in the works. But you will not be allowed to go into details about the which company you are signing to, the music that will be on there, or any other specific details until the album is close to being promoted. When the time comes, we will discuss the details when we write our press release and go from there._

_I look forward to meeting and working with you as well as the other Angelz._

_Sincerely,_

_Mr. Richard Moore_

_Lucky Duck Records  
1234 Bluebird Lane  
London, United Kingdom, __**[enter complicated postal here]**__  
Business: 00123456789 __**[not sure if this is a real number or not. Don't think it is]**__  
Email: richardmoore at gmail dot com_

* * *

Nina smiled slightly when she read that she could tell the fans about the album. Nina logged out of her email and minimized her browser.

She turned on her webcam to make a video. Once she saw it was recording, she began speaking.

_"Hey, guys. It's Nina," _Nina smiled. _"You may or may not know me but I'm the lead singer of The Angelz. I just wanted to make a quick video saying 'Hi' and to talk to you guys a little bit. First off, I want to say thank you to all of the fans who have stuck by me and the rest of the girls throughout the years. I know it seems like we fell off the face of the Earth, but we're fine. And alive,"_ Nina added.

_"But thank you, really. I know I haven't really said it much in the past, when we started almost three years ago, but better late than never, right?"_ Nina chuckled lightly.

_"Anyway, I wanted to let you guys know that we are now, currently, working on an album. I can't give away too many details, but I can't wait for you guys to hear it. I'm really excited. _

_But unfornuately, that means I won't be sharing any new songs that I've written anytime soon. All my songs that I've written or will be writing goes to the studio and we decide which ones we're going to use for the album. The ones that aren't going to be used, I may be able to share._

_**But**__, and this is a really big but, until then, I will be doing some covers of some songs that I like. In fact," _Nina began typing on her laptop. _"I'm going to sing for you guys right now." _Nina was silent as she continued typing and searching on her laptop. Nina smiled when she found what she was looking for.

"Okay," she said. "So this is one of my favorite songs. So um, I hope guys enjoy it." Nina tapped lightly on her touchpad and music began playing. Nina adjusted the volume before she began singing.

**"**_**I know your inside, you're feeling so hollow**_

_**And it's a hard pill for you to swallow**_

_**But if I fall for you, I'll never recover**_

_**If I fall for you, I'll never be the same**_

_**I really wanna love somebody**_

_**I really wanna dance the night away**_

_**I know we're only half way there**_

_**But you can take me all the way, you can take me all **_

_**the way**_

_**I really wanna touch somebody**_

_**I think about you every single day**_

_**I know we're only half way there**_

_**But you can take me all the way, you can take me all **_

_**the way**_

_**You're such a hard act for me to follow**_

_**Love me today don't leave me tomorrow, yeah**_

_**But if I fall for you, I'll never recover**_

_**If I fall for you, I'll never be the same**_

_**I really wanna love somebody**_

_**I really wanna dance the night away**_

_**I know we're only half way there**_

_**But you can take me all the way, you can take me all **_

_**the way**_

_**I really wanna touch somebody**_

_**I think about you every single day**_

_**I know we're only half way there**_

_**But you can take me all the way, you can take me all **_

_**the way**_

_**Oh, oh, oh, oh**_

_**I don't know where to start, I'm just a little lost**_

_**I wanna feel like we never gonna ever stop**_

_**I don't know what to do, I'm right in front of you**_

_**Asking you to stay, you should stay, stay with me **_

_**tonight, yeah**_

_**I really wanna love somebody**_

_**I really wanna dance the night away**_

_**I know we're only half way there**_

_**But you can take me all the way, you can take me all **_

_**the way**_

_**I really wanna touch somebody**_

_**I think about you every single day**_

_**I know we're only half way there**_

_**But you can take me all the way, you can take me all **_

_**the way**_

_**Oh, oh, oh, oh**_

_**You can take me all the way, you can take me all the **_

_**way"**_

_"Okay, I hope you guys enjoyed my cover of __Love Somebody__,"_ Nina grinned. _"Again, thank you guys for all your support. Leave a comment, hopefully a positive one. And I'll talk to you guys later. Bye!"_ Nina smiled and waved at the camera before ending the recording.

Nina made sure the video was saved before uploading it to YouTube and posting a link on twitter.

Mara walked out of the bathroom, pulling her long hair into a messy ponytail.

"Nice shower?" Nina asked.

"Somewhat," Mara shrugged and sat at the edge of her bed.

"I ordered us room service. They should be here any minute. I hope you're okay with spaghetti," Nina said. Mara nodded.

"I heard you singing," Mara mentioned. "You sound way better than a dying walrus."

"Thanks," Nina replied, flatly.

"Seriously, you sounded amazing," Mara told her.

"Thank you," Nina said, her response more geniune. A loud knock was heard at the their door.

"Room service!" a male said. Nina got climbed off her bed, setting her laptop on top her duvet, to retrieve the food.

* * *

***BTW. The Angelz call their fans Angels. Kind of like Victoria Justice fans are called Victorians or One Direction fans or called Directioners. I think you get the point.**

**Also the twitter names were suppose to have at signs but the stupid thing won't allow it so...**

**Same thing with the "email" address.  
**

**Sorry this chapter is a little boring, at least in my opinion. And sorry for its shortness. I'll post the next chapter tomorrow to make up for it. (:**

**Please review! (:**


	6. Chapter 6

**Guest [who reviewed chapter 4 on 9/9/12]: You'd be surprised by how many people actually do talk like that. Besides it's only for comedic and entertainment purposes. ... And okaaay...**

**alex4736: Sara is one of Nina's friends and apart of The Angelz, aka Nina's singing group, along with Nikki, Tamie, and Cathy. You could also look at the AN at the end of chapter 1 to find out the faceclaims.**

**I decided to upload this chapter to make up for the horribly written and boring previous chapter. Enjoy! BTW Nikki's mother is "played" by Constance Marie.**

**WARNING: Language used in this chapter.**

* * *

Nina, Cathy, Sara, Tamie, Nikki, and Nikki's mother arrived outside Lucky Duck Records at ten o' clock the next morning. The skies were a light gray and the temperature were currently in the low thirties. **[Fahrenheit]** They stepped out of the gray 2012 Honda Pilot and walked inside the tall building.

They entered the main lobby and approached a red hair, gray eyed, middle aged receptionist, whom was sitting behind a tall desk.

"Hi. We have a ten thirty appointment with Mr. Richard Moore," Tamie said. The receptionist looked up at Tamie with an annoyed look on her face, obviously not liking the fact that the teenagers were even allowed through the front entrance.

The receptionist searched through her computer to find the appointment, ocassionally adjusting her wire-rimmed, rectangular glasses.

"The only ten thirty appointment Mr. Moore has is with a group called The Angelz, so if don't mind-"

"But we are The Angelz," Cathy interrupted.

_'What's with adults not believing us when it comes to the Angelz,'_ Nina thought.

"You must be mistaken as Mr. Moore only works with adult clients. Twenty-five to fifty-five," the receptionist explained.

"Well that must be a lie 'cause we are no where near that old and we are one of his clients," Sara told the woman.

"Honey," the receptionist said. "I have no time to argue, so can you and your friends leave before I call sercuity."

"Call sercuity, I dare you!" Nikki exclaimed, walking closer to the desk.

"Okay, okay. Honey," Nikki's mom put her hands on her daughter's shoulders, pulling Nikki back. Nikki's mother walked up to the front and looked down at the receptionist.

"Look here, small fry. We don't have time to bullshit and neither do you. You may be sick of us right now, but I'm sick of your fucking attitude. Call sercuity, see if I care. But these girls are The Angelz whether you like it not. If you don't believe us, call Mr. Moore right now."

The, now angry, receptionist picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Excuse me, Mr. Moore," she said in fake sweetness. "Yes. I have a group of teenage girls here claiming there are the Angelz... Yes, sir... Yes, sir. Bright red hair... Oh, I see... Yes, thank you. I will send them up." The receptionist hung up the phone and looked at the angry mother.

"Sorry for the mix up," she said with an obvious forced smile. "I will have another employee take you up." She picked up the phone again.

Nikki's mom turned around and faced the girls. "_That's_ how you do it!" she said. The five girls laughed and cheered and Nikki gave her mother a brief hug.

* * *

Eddie sat in the drama studio with his laptop resting on his lap. He had headphones plugged in and was listening to music as he typed. Joy walked into the room and sat down next to him.

"Hey," Joy greeted. She placed her bag on the floor. Eddie looked at Joy and took out his left earbud.

"Oh, hey," he replied.

"Whatcha doing?"

"I'm writing my book report," Eddie answered.

"Isn't that due, like, today?" Joy questioned.

"Yeah," Eddie said.

"What are you listening to?" Joy took out Eddie's other earbud and stuck it in her right ear.

"The Angelz. They're a pop music group from the states. I discovered their music about a year and a half ago. They're actually pretty good."

"You like _pop_?" Joy asked in disbelief.

"Not necessarily. I just... like this song," Eddie defended himself.

"Uh huh," Joy replied and took her lunch out of her backpack. She pulled out a ham and cheese sub.

"Hmm?" Joy gestured her half of her sandwich toward Eddie.

"Oh, thank you," Eddie took the sandwich out of Joy's hand then put his left earbud in the correct ear. Joy and Eddie sat together silently as they ate and listened to The Angelz.

* * *

A young man held the door open as the girls and Nikki's mom walked into a room.

"Mr. Moore will be here shortly," he said and left the room. Everyone got a good look around. The square room was very large with four walls. One wall wasn't even considered a wall, as it was basically a giant window overlooking the small city. The other three walls were painted a vibrant orange. Paintings hung on the walls along with a couple Gold and Platnium Album Awards.

The shiny hard wood floor had a shaggy rug placed on top of it. A glass coffee table rested on top the rug and was surrounded by red couches and chairs.

Everyone took a seat and waited Mr. Moore to arrive. Nina looked around for a brief moment, before standing up and walking to the large wall sized window, admiring the view.

Cathy leaned back in her seat when she heard a small beep.

"Ooo," Cathy said before the chair began vibrating.

"Oooh. Massage chair," her distorted voice made Sara laugh and Nikki crack an amused smile.

The door flung open and tall man walked in, followed by a young woman; who looked to be in her late early thirties. The florence lights reflected off his silver hair, drawing the girls' attention.

Cathy shut off the massage chair and stood up as did everyone else. Nina walked away from the window and joined the rest of her friends.

"Hello, I'm Richard Moore," the man said, extending his right hand. Each of the girls returned the handshake as they introduced themselves.

"Hi, I'm Tamie."

"I'm Marie. Nicole's mother."

"I'm Nicole," Nikki said.

"Hi. I'm Nina."

"I'm Sara."

"And I'm Cathy."

"Please. Have a seat," Richard gestured to the couches. Everyone sat down except for the young woman and Richard.

"As you may know, I have owned this record company for the last fifteen years. Before then, I worked as a music producer and before then, I worked in a band as lead singer and songwriter," Richard said, walking around slowly.

"For the first ten or so years, I've have mainly put my focus on adult artists. As there weren't many adult singers and bands out at the time. But I want a change. And what better way to do that, than with The Angelz."

"Go on," Nicole's mother said.

"I haven't signed anyone in the last four years. Most of my later clients haven't been very successful. Usually one hit song and they're out. I've now realized that most of the audience that listen and download music nowadays are teenagers and kids. No kid wants to hear a thirty year old man sing about his divorce or kids.

And you girls are trying to maked a comeback. Is that right?" Richard asked as the young woman pulled moved a canvas stand, that none of the girls had noticed, an placed it in front of them.

"Yes, sir," Nina answered. Richard moved to the stand. He removed the first plain white poster board, which revealed a cartoon picture of a group of people who appear to be cheering on the left the side of the board and an arrow pointing to the opppsite side of the board where bags full of money were drawn.

"This project could be huge," Richard continued. "Lots of publicity would come from this. More publicity means more fans," Richard used a pointer stick to gestured between the two pictures. "More fans means more money."

"We don't sing for the money," Tamie pointed out.

"I understand that. I was in your place before, I get it. But this studio needs money. We're close to being bankrupt and we haven't had much of an income. You guys want to make an album and a comeback, I want to make an album and a comeback. I'm on your side. The decisions up to you."

Nina, Cathy, Sara, Nicole, and Tamie shared glances before looking back at Richard Moore.

"Let's make an album," Nina stated.

"Great," Mr. Moore said. "Let's go over to the conference room to talk over your contract. The lawyers and everyone are already waiting." Everyone stood up and walked to the door, which the young woman held open.

* * *

The final school bell rang and students exited their classrooms and started on their journeys to their houses and after school activities. Amber packed a textbook and her notes into her large designer tote bag and placed everything else into her locker. She shut the door and saw Alfie standing there with his signature goofy grin. A startled Amber jumped in surprise.

"Alfie!" she exclaimed. She placed her right hand over her heart. "You scared me!"

"Sorry," Alfie apologized. Amber noticed Alfie was hiding something behind his back.

"What's that?" Amber gestured to his back.

"Just a gift for my beautiful girlfriend," Alfie moved his hand from behind his back and held out a black velvet box.

"Alfiiie," Amber took the box out of his hand. She opened the lid and gasped at what she saw. Inside, was a beautiful bracelet. In pure white gold and obvious real diamonds, the word 'Amber' spelt in neat cursive was attached to the thin silver chain.

"Alfie," Amber breathed.

"It's custom made," Alfie mentioned.

"It's beautiful," Amber told him, admiring the piece of jewerly.

"Like you," Alfie stated. Amber looked up at him.

"Alfie you shouldn't have," Amber said, shaking her head slightly. She looked back at the bracelet.

"It's no big deal," Alfie said.

"No, you really shouldn't have," Amber said, sternly.

"What do you mean?" Alfie asked, confused.

"Nothing, nothing. I love it," Amber changed the subject.

"Oh!" Alfie reached into his blazer pocket. "Don't forget the card." He passed the envelope to Amber. Amber eyed him as she took the card out of his hand.

"I orginally was going to leave this on your bed, but I couldn't wait," Alfie said as Amber opened the envelope. Amber removed the card and read it aloud.

"'_Amber, I hope you like the bracelet. I used my entire life savings for it because you deserve the best,'" _Amber voice started to crack.

_"'I don't how a guy like me, a goofy guy whom no one takes seriously, could've have ever been so lucky to be dating a girl like you. A beautiful, sweet, loving girl who is perfect in every way._

_Even on your bad hair days, or the days you have a zit, even if you weighed over two hundreds and had hegiene problems, I would still think you are the most beautiful girl in the world. You are the girl of my dreams. And I love you with all my heart._

_Alfie.'" _

By now the tears were already streaming down Amber's face.

"Alfie, I don't know what to say," she told him.

"I meant every word," Alfie said.

"Alfie. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever given me. I don't deserve you," Amber stated.

"That is ridiculous." Alfie commented. "If anything, you deserve someone a million times better than me." Alfie wrapped his arms around Amber, engulfing her in a hug.

"No," she whispered into Alfie shoulder. "I really don't."

* * *

Mara sat indian style on her bed as she played on her laptop. Nina was sitting at the small desk that stood a few feet in front of her bed. She had her phone pressed against her ear as she waited while she was on hold.

"Hi. Mr. Winkler?" Nina said into her phone when she was taken off hold.

"It's Nina. I called to ask you about the school musical."

Mara looked up at Nina, curiously.

"Yes, I was wondering when you were holding auditions... Uh huh... Okay... So the auditions aren't for another month? Okay. Thank you... Yes, I'll email you about the make up work. Thanks again. Buh- bye." Nina hung up her phone.

"You're auditioning for the musical?" Mara pondered.

"Maybe," Nina set her phone on the desk. "I've been giving it a lot of thought. I mean, I'm going to be crazy busy with the album and everything, but I don't want Danielle Golden to get the lead. I wanna show her up. Let her know that she can't get everything she wants in life even if her daddy pays for it." Mara nodded, understanding.

"You wanna go out today?" Nina asked hopped onto her bed. She lied down on her stomach, propped up on her elbows. She faced Mara with her hands clasped and a curious look on her face.

"Noooo. We've been going out all the time. I think I'm gonna stay in," Mara replied.

"Yeah, I know we've been going out a lot, but when the album's promoted, it's going to be a little harder to go out. With the fans and everything. It's going to be a little chaotic," Nina said.

"Might be sooner than you think," Mara stated, staring at her computer screen. Nina furrowed her eyebrows. She climbed off her bed and sat down next to Mara. She noticed Mara was reading an article on a celebrity gossip site she had never heard of and read the article out loud.

"_'Nina Martin Announces New Album_

_Nina Martin, lead singer of the American girl-group, The Angelz, announced that an album is currently in the works on a YouTube video she posted early last night along with a cover of Maroon 5's 'Love Somebody.' The young teen didn't go into many details but that doesn't stop the insanity underway._

_American fans are already buzzing with excitement, especially after The Anglez' two year hiatus. Since the announcement has been made, people all around the world, fans and potential fans, have been checking out videos, downloading music, and learning more about the Angelz._

_Glad you girls are back and we can't wait to hear what's in store.'_"

"Wow. You guys are going to be really popular," Mara commented.

"Yeah," Nina breathed. Nina got off Mara's bed and retrieved her netbook that sat at the foot of her bed.

She opened the laptop, and since she already had a browser open, she opened a new tab and went to Twitter. She quickly logged on and looked at her followers.

"3, 268 followers," Nina read aloud.

"Oh my goodness," Mara stated.

"I didn't know this many people were going to know about it so soon," Nina said. She looked at the tweets people have sent her.

**Samantha (:** (_**HungerGames4Life)**_  
** Nina_Martin **_You're cover was AMAZING!_

**Anna Stevens (**_**AngelzRule123) **_  
** Nina_Martin **_Yay! You guys are making an album. I can't wait to hear it! XD_

**Liza (**_**NeverShoutNever)**__  
_** Nina_Martin **_OMG! Nina, I'm your number one fan! PLEASE give me a shoutout!_

Nina smiled as she read some of the sweet tweets that her fans had given her, but one specific one caught her eye.

**Lacey Johnson (**_**LaceyJohnson)**_  
** Nina_Martin** _Good to see you're back, sweetheart. Looking foward to seeing you and the rest of your ensemble on stage wearing my fabulous outfits ;) x ._

"AHHH!" Nina screamed in delight, surprising Mara.

"What?" Mara asked, anxious.

"Lacey tweeted me," Nina grinned, staring at her computer screen.

"Who's Lacey?" Mara questioned, slightly confused.

"She's our stylist," Nina explained. "She's been with us since the very beginning. I love her to death. She's like my older sister."

"Oh," Mara replied. "Cool."

Nina quickly replied to Lacey's tweet.

** LaceyJohnson** _Can't wait to see you! When are you flying in?_

"So do you wanna stay in and maybe watch some movies?" Mara asked.

"Sure," Nina said. "I'm in the mood for comedy. What about you?"

"I could use a good laugh," Mara agreed.

"I'm gonna see if I can find any DVD rentals stores nearby," Nina said, typing on her laptop.

"Oh, we could go down to the hotel restaraunt for dinner," Mara suggested. "I heard it's really fancy. It's pretty much the same food we've been eating, but this way we can get out of the room. Do something different."

"Yeah, okay. Is there a dress code?" Nina asked, getting off her bed. She walked over to her suitcase.

"Yes. Girls have to be wearing a dress or a skirt. It's like a semi formal kind of thing," Mara answered. Nina pulled out a few dresses out of her shopping bag from the day before and threw them on her bed.

"Okay. Do you want to invite everyone else? Or do you want it to be just us?" Nina questioned.

"You can invite the your friends," Mara told her. "I like hanging out with all of you. Besides where else am I going to find out embarrassing stories about you?"

"Mara!" Nina exclaimed. Mara laughed.

"I never expected you to say something like that," Nina said.

"Well," Mara shrugged.

"Okay, I'll text them. See if they wanna come with." Nina told Mara. "What time so you want to leave?"

"I think we should go before it's too crowded. We may have to make a reservation," Mara stated. "I'll check," Mara picked up the phone off its cradle.

* * *

Jerome sighed. He looked anxiously at his phone screen, wondering what he should do. After a few moments, Alfie entered the bedroom.

"Hey," Alfie greeted as he shut the door.

"Hey." Jerome set the phone on his bed next to him.

"Whatcha doing?" Alfie asked. He walked over to his side of the room. He set his backpack on the floor before sitting down on his messy, unmade bed. Alfie stood up a little bit, to where he was squatting over the bed, and picked up a dirty sock from under him. He sat back down as he threw the sock on the floor.

"Wondering if I should call Mara or not," Jerome said. "I haven't spoken to her since she and Nina left."

"Well I'm sure she'll call," Alfie reassured. "It's probably just a really hard time over there and Mara just being there for Nina. But, if you want to know what going on, then call her yourself."

Jerome merely nodded.

"Hey," Alfie exclaimed. "Wanna go pull prank on Eddie?"

"Maybe later, Alfie," Jerome replied. Alfie shrugged and walked out of the room.

Jerome grabbed his phone and looked at it, yet again. Finally making his decision, Jerome dialed Mara's number and pressed the phone against his ear. He listened patiently as it rang. A few seconds later he heard Mara's voice, but not the one he was hoping for.

_'Hi. This is Mara. Sorry for missing your call, but leave a message!' _BEEP.

"Mara, hey. It's Jerome," Jerome said into his phone. "I just wanted to know if you're okay. I miss you. Call me back. Bye." Jerome hung up the phone and leaned back on his bed, exhaling a large breath.

* * *

Patricia, Joy, and Amber were walking home from school when a random boy walked up to them. He handed Amber a sealed, creme, envelope before walking off. Amber looked at the front of the envelope and saw her name written in neatly in pink sparkly ink.

"What was that about?" Patricia asked.

"Nothing," Amber said, shoving the envelope in her bag. "Nothing." Patricia and Joy shared a looked before shrugging and the three continued their walk to the house.

* * *

Amber quickly walked into her room, shutting the door behind her. She leaned against the door to make sure no one could walk in. She pulled the envelope out of her bag and tore it open.

_'Do it this weekend, or else,' _she read the perfume scented letter. Amber's heart sank. She knew what "or else" meant. I mean, of course she did, she was discussing it with this person for weeks now. And she knew that it would end badly for her if she didn't. But she also knew that if she did this, it would break Nina's heart. But there's no going back.

* * *

**I know I probably left you confused but like I said, all will be revealed. ;)**

**Please review.**


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as Fabian enter the common room, a wolf whistle rang out. Dressed in nice, dark dress pants, a blue button down shirt and a black blazer, Fabian sent an irritated look at Patricia.

"Where are you going looking all fancy?" Joy asked, taking note of his outfit.

"I'm meeting up with my parents," Fabian said. "We're going out."

"Where?" Alfie asked.

"Not sure yet," Fabian replied.

"Well have fun," Joy said.

"Thanks," Fabian said. He glanced towards the stunning blonde. Looking into her deep blue iris, he could see she knew he was lying. Brushing it off, Fabian exited the common room and headed out the front door.

Fabian made his way down the path to an awaiting taxi. He pulled out his iPhone and sent a text. 'On my way'

Reaching the end of the path, Fabian entered the slick black taxi that was almost camoflouged in the dark night.

"Where to?" the cabbie asked, noticing the presence of the young teen.

"Watson Hotel," Fabian stated. The cab driver nodded and drove away from Anubis House.

* * *

"Right this way." The maitre'd lead Nina and Mara through the crowded restaraunt to an empty booth under dim lights. Mara and Nina slid in the plush booth as the maitre'd handed them two menus. He placed four others on the corner of the table and headed back to his podium.

"So as I was saying," Mara continued. "I literally sat there, for over an hour and a half, tapping a blank screen. You have no idea how bored I was. And my mum kept asking me, 'What game are you playing?' And I was like 'Angry birds' or I'll make up some game. Like one time, she asked me what playing on my iPad and I told her 'A-animal Farm...' Which I totally made up and she was like, 'Animal Farm? What kind of game is that?' and I said, 'What do you think, mum?'

And she asked, 'Is it like a farm with animals on it?' And I was like 'Duhhh!' And she said, 'Well I don't know!' Well, neither do I and I made it up."

Nina laughed in amusement.

"Well I couldn't tell her it was broken!" Mara defended herself. "She would be so mad if she found out I broke my brand new iPad in less than two weeks after I got it!" Nina chuckled again and glanced to the other side of the restaurant Her eyes widened.

"Get down," she gasped, pulling Mara down to hide under the table.

"What?"

"Look on the other side of the restaurant The far table diagonal from us. Right by the hallway that leads to the restrooms," Nina instructed. Mara peered over the table, eyes scanning the area where Nina explained. Once she saw her target, Mara gasped and quickly ducked her head down and faced Nina.

"It's Fabian," she said.

* * *

Amber sat on her bed, anxiously drumming her fingers on her knee.

The chorus of 'What Makes You Beautiful' filled the quiet room. Amber quickly grabbed her phone off her vanity, next to her, and pressed 'Accept.'

"Hello?" she said.

"Did you forget what I told you?"

"I'll do it this weekend. Don't worry."

"I'm not the one who should be worrying."

"Just... why do I have to do this?" Amber asked quietly.

"Oh, I could've done it. But, I figured Nina would be more heartbroken if she found out it was you."

"You are sick," Amber spat.

"Really? Did you not remember what you did to get this plan to work?"

"Please," Amber pleaded. "Just don't tell anyone, especially Alfie!"

"We'll see. Bye Amber."

"Danielle, please!" But Danielle had already hung up the phone.

* * *

Tamie and Sara walked up to the booth where they noticed Nina and Mara hiding and peering over the glossy, brown, wooden table.

"What are you doing?" Sara asked. She and Tamie slid into the plush, half circle booth.

"Hiding," Nina replied. "Where's Nikki and Cathy?" Nina asked, noticing the absence of her two friends.

"Still getting ready," Tamie answered. "But why are you hiding?" Nina and Mara lifted themselves off the floor and sat properly in their seat.

"Remember when I mentioned Fabian was cheating on me?" Nina said. Tamie and Sara nodded.

"Well, he's over there." Tamie and Sara both shot their heads in the direction Nina was pointing to.

"Don't look at the same time!" Nina exclaimed.

"Don't look where at the same time?" Catherine questioned, walking up to the table along side Nicole.

"Don't look at Fabian at the same time," Nina explained. Tamie and Sara scooted towards Nina, making room for Nikki and Cathy.

"Fabian? Your boyfriend?" Nikki pondered as she and Cathy slid into the booth. Nikki reached for the stack menus that sat at corner of the table. She took one for herself and passed the remaining three to Catherine.

"What is he doing here?" Cathy questioned, passing the last two the Sara.

"That's what we're wondering." Mara stated.

"Who's that girl with him?" Tamie asked.

"What girl?" Nina looked at Tamie, genuinely confused.

"The blonde one, with the bob cut." Everyone turned their heads to Fabian's table, where they saw him and certain blonde hugging.

"_DANIELLE?!_" Nina exclaimed.

* * *

"Hey," Fabian greeted the platinum blonde. He promptly stood up from his seat and gave Danielle a hug and a small peck on the cheek.

Being a gentleman, Fabian pulled out the plush chair next to him, as a gesture for Danielle to sit down, which Danielle accepted.

"I noticed you cut your hair," Fabian mentioned, sitting in his seat. "I think you look beautiful."

"Aww, Fabes," Danielle gushed. "You always know what to say." Danielle lean in for a kiss, which Fabian happily obliged.

At the booth, Mara, Nina, Tamie, Sara, Cathy, and Nikki's mouths gaped open.

"So why'd you want to meet here?" Fabian pondered.

"Well, we've been going out for three months now," Danielle explained. "And I know how much you've been wanting to meet my parents, so I arranged for this dinner so you can meet them while their in town. Speaking of which, here they come now."

An older, good looking couple, probably in the forties, made their way over Fabian's table.

"Who's that?" Cathy asked.

"I don't know," Mara replied.

"Shhh..." Nina shushed.

Both Fabian and Danielle stood from their seats as the couple approached.

"Daddy," Danielle grinned, giving the tall, brown and gray haired man a hug.

"Mum." She gave the beautiful blonde woman a kiss on both cheeks.

"Mum, Daddy. I'd like you to meet Fabian," Danielle introduced. "Fabian meet my parents Steve and Marissa Golden."

"Nice to meet you, son." Mr. Golden gave Fabian a firm handshake.

"Likewise," Fabian replied. He turned to Mrs. Golden.

"Lovely to meet you," Fabian said, shaking hands.

"Lovely to meet you, too," Mrs. Golden grinned. The four took their seats around the circular table.

* * *

"Ugh!" Nina groaned. "I wish I knew what they were talking about."

Nicole dug through her clutch and pulled out her iPhone.

"What are you-"

"Shhh.." Nikki interrupted Mara, typing something on her phone. A few moments later Tamie's phone rang. Tamie stared at her phone screen.

"Why are you calling me?" Tamie asked Nikki.

"Just answer it." Very confused, Tamie accepted the call.

"What are you doing?" Sara questioned the brunette.

"I'm gonna go over there, with my phone, and hide by that plant near Fabian's table. Tamie is going to have her phone on speaker so then you guys will hear everything that's going on," Nikki explained.

"And the reason I didn't call Nina is because if I get caught, he may see the contact I'm calling and if he sees Nina's name, he'll get suspicious."

"Nikki..." Nina said. "I love you." A silent chuckle escaped Nikki's lips.

"How are you sure he's not going to see you?" Cathy questioned.

"I'll make it look like I'm going to the bathroom. Then, when no one's not paying attention, I'll run behind that plant. And I'm certain he won't see you guys since his back is to us." Mara, Nina, Sara, Tamie, and Cathy nodded.

"Alright," Nikki stated. "Wish me luck." Nikki stood up from the booth, phone in hand. She quickly adjusted her skirt and walked casually towards the restrooms.

As Nikki walked within earshot of Fabian's table of four, she eyed it carefully, making sure no one noticed her presence. Danielle glanced at Nikki for a brief second before focusing on her father once more as he told everyone about one of his travels.

Nikki walked passed their table, rounding the corner in the hallway were the restrooms were located. She stood against the bare wall near the doorway for a moment before ducking and silently tip toeing back into the main dining room. Nikki discreetly crawled her way behind the tall plant nearest Fabian's table. Unnoticed, Nikki held her phone up, catching the quartet's conversation.

"... so I told him 'Sir, I have the last say," Mr. Golden finished. Danielle, Fabian, and Mrs. Golden laughed, humorously, causing Nikki to roll her eyes.

"So Fabian," Mr. Golden stated. "Tell us, how long have you and Danielle been together?"

"Oh," Fabian set down his drink. "About three months, sir."

"'Sir,'" Mr. Golden grinned to his wife. "I like the sound of that," he chuckled. Fabian gave him a small smile as Danielle and her mother grinned like no tomorrow.

"Three months?" Nina whispered to herself. The four girls at her table each gave her a sympathetic look.

"So Fabian, how long have you know our daughter, exactly?" Mrs. Golden pondered.

"Since I was thirteen," Fabian answered. He grabbed Danielle's manicured hand. "I've loved her since the moment I first laid eyes on her, and I'll love her till the day I die."

* * *

Nina's vision slowly began to blur as tears formed in her eyes._ 'Love her till the day he dies,' _she thought._ 'Exactly what he told my gran about me.'_

"Nina?" Mara said gently, tearing Nina from her thoughts. "Are you okay?" Nina quickly blinked away the tears before putting on a fake smile.

"I'm fine," she grinned, not hiding the sadness in her voice. "Um. I'm not really hungry. I think I'll just... go up to bed." Nina grabbed her clutch off the table.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Tamie questioned, looking concerned.

"Yeah," Nina stated. "Excuse me." she told Mara. Mara got up, allowing Nina to slid out of the booth and walk out of the restaurant.

* * *

**This chapter sooo sucks in my opinion, sorry for the wait.**

**Please review! (:**


	8. AN: Rewrites & Poll

Hey, guys! Sorry this is not an update, and I know you are tired of this excuse, but I've been really busy. Especially with writing rewrites. Thing is, if you don't know, I'm editing and rewriting certain stories I've written. I have different reasons why I'm rewriting stories and these are the different reasons:

**iHouse of Victorious [in HOA/Victorious Crossover section]**- I personally think that the story was moving too fast and could've been rewritten better. Plus the format was confusing and for me to move on with limited confused in the future, I need to make the changes in the beginning of the story before I continue with the rest.

**Welcome to Hollywood Arts [HOA/Victorious Crossover]-** The story was moving a little to fast and they really didn't describe the relataionships between some characters. Especially between Nina and the Victorious gang.

**Anubis: Trip to America-** I just think it could've been written better and been mor decribtive. Plus, since SO many people had taken my idea of the Anubis gang going to the U.S. to compare the U.S.'s culture to their's for one month (which by the way, gave it away) and did not give me any credit or ask for permission, I'm changing a few things to make my story different from the rest. (Apart from Neddie)

**Nina's Secret Life:** Same reason as ATTA, plus MAJOR writer's block. Please feel free to send me ideas ASAP. And idea will help. I want to get the story rewritten and updated by my birthday on Wednesday (April 10)

**In the Spotlight:** I haven't announced previously, but I'm rewritting this story. Mainly cutting some unneccessary things out and rewording things. Nothing that will change anything majorly.

**Will Love Prevail:** I need to make it more realistic. I mean, a two year who can talk better than an average American adult? I don't know what I was thinking.

**Criminal:** To tell you all the truth, I wrote the story in a rush, especially the second chapter. I know I can do better.

**Define Family:** A Christmas that wasn't even updated near Christmas. I just want to word things better and add better descriptions.

**Hunted By a Dark Ruler:** I had already rewritten and published the first chapter. I'm in the middle of fixing the second chapter

That's basically the main stories I'm rewritting. Some of them will stay on hiatus until further notice, other's will be continued.

* * *

The other thing I wanted to tell you guys about is my recent poll. As you all know I have about 10+ stories that are currently in progress. I put some on hiatus but since I'm writing partically for you guys, I wanted to see which stories you wanted me to rewrite/publish/update first. You will be able to vote for up to 3 choices.

_**The poll will be open until:**_

_USA Eastern: 9:00pm Tuesday, April, 9, 2013_  
_USA Central: 8:00pm Tuesday, April 9, 2013_  
_USA Pacific: 7:00pm Tuesday, April 9, 2013_  
_UK: 2:00am Wednesday, April 10, 2013_

All the other countries and regions I'm not sure what time it'll be when the poll closes, but I would do poll before Tuesday. I may extend the date depending on the amount votes I get by Sunday. Vote soon cause I want to update and I know you want me to, too.

If you have any questions or ideas, review under HOAluver13's stories or PM me.

* * *

Also, since I have writer's block, I will be taking requests for one shots you want me to do. I still promised another reader on the House of Anubis/Victorious Crossover Fanfiction that I will write them a story. No have not forgotten, though it's been almost a year. But if you want me to write a specific one shot, please review a plot line under HOAluver13's Stories.

Thank you. (:


End file.
